Don Pramudwinai (, , ; born 25 January 1950) is a Thai diplomat and politician who was a

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

from 2015 to 2023 under Prime Minister

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, 2014 coup ...

government. He previously served as the ambassador of Thailand to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Early life and education

Don attended Wat Suthiwararam and

Suankularb Wittayalai School Suankularb Wittayalai School (โรงเรียนสวนกุหลาบวิทยาลัย; Abbreviation: ส.ก. / S.K.) (also known as Suankularb College) literally ''Rose Garden College'' is an all-boys secondary school for g ...

s. As an undergraduate he studied at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University (1967–1968). He received a BA in political science and an MA in international relations from University of California (UCLA). He also received an MA in international relations from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงการต่างประเทศ
กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ

Diplomatic career

Don Pramudwinai joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1974. In 1992 he was appointed director-general of the Department of East Asian Affairs. From 1994 to 1998 he was posted as Thailand's ambassador to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

, and

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. From 1999 to 2000 he was the Foreign Ministry spokesperson. From 2000 to 2004 he served as ambassador to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. From 2004 to 2007 he served as ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. From 2007 until 2009 he served as permanent representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in New York. From 2009 until 2010 he served as ambassador to the

Political career

In 2014 he was appointed deputy foreign minister to Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn, and in 2015 was elevated to minister of foreign affairs. Following the

2018 Phuket boat capsizing On 5 July 2018, two tourist boats capsized and sank near Phuket, Thailand, during a sudden storm. 46 people died and three were missing, all of whom were on the double-decker ship ''Phoenix PC Diving'', which carried 101 people, including 89 tou ...

, Don stated that the incident happened because "Some Chinese use Thai nominees to bring Chinese tourists in" and they did not heed weather warnings. The Chinese public generally regarded these remarks as distasteful and the remarks generated significant reaction in Chinese domestic media, including calls for boycotts of

tourism in Thailand Tourism is an economic contributor to the Kingdom of Thailand. Estimates of tourism revenue directly contributing to the GDP of 12 trillion baht range from one trillion baht (2013) 2.53 trillion baht (2016), the equivalent of 9% to 17.7% of GDP ...

. Don downplayed the remarks, stating that the incident should not affect Thailand-China relations. Chinese tourism to Phuket dropped significantly in the following months. To increase Chinese tourism, Thailand introduced measures such as waiving visa fees. In an August 2020 Cabinet reshuffle, he was also appointed as deputy prime minister in addition to his position as minister of foreign affairs. In 2022 Don has been instrumental in pushing for the restoration of Thai-Saudi relations, this marks the first high-level visit in three decades between the two countries.

Awards and honors

* 1998: Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Noble

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

* 2003: Knight Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

* 2004: Knight Commander of the Most Illustrious

Order of Chula Chom Klao The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao (; ) was established on 16 November 1873 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) to commemorate the 90th Jubilee of the Chakri Dynasty and bears his name (จุลจอมเกล� ...

ราชกิจจานุเบกษา
ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง พระราชทานเหรียญจักรมาลาและเหรียญจักรพรรดิมาลา
เล่ม ๑๑๘ ตอนที่ ๔ ข หน้า ๒๑๔, ๒๒ กุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๔๔

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pramudwinai, Don 1950 births Living people Don Pramudwinai University of California, Los Angeles alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai Don Pramudwinai